Emma Powell - Writer

Emma's other creation, Busting Out! was a hit at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and continues to play to sell out crowds all over Australia and New Zealand. Busting Out! will debut in the U.K. in 2010.

Emma’s first performance was at the age of three when she appeared on US television with Ronald McDonald. School musicals were the natural progression from an Oompa Loompa at age 12 in The Wizard of Oz to Rosie in Bye Bye Birdie at sweet sixteen.

As a grown up, the stage continued to beckon and she gave up a career in Public Relations to travel around Australia in The Pirates of Penzance. Emma then landed a spot in the Cameron Mackintosh world-wide sensation Les Miserables, touring to Singapore, Hong Kong, Korea and Cape Town. On her return, Emma participated in a workshop of an exciting original Australian musical, Crusade.

She was then fortunate and thrilled, to be cast in the title role of Anthony Crowley’s original production, The Journey Girl, as Samantha.

A one woman show, The Journey Girl used all of Emma’s talents including, comedy, drama and singing of a whooping 22 songs. What Emma didn’t know at the time was that her next starring role would be motherhood. Wanting to share her experiences of parenthood, she wrote and performed the cabarets – Two’s Company – Three’s On The Way, and Two’s Company – Three’s a Crowd. Emma is no stranger to the intimate style of cabaret, having also performed her one-woman show Let Yourself Go and Anthony Crowley’s An After Dinner Treat at Mietta’s in Melbourne.

After a few years of full time parenting Emma re-entered the theatre world with the hit musical Mamma Mia! Starting off in the ensemble and understudy to Rosie she was then promoted to the role of Rosie for the Australasian Tour. For two years she had an absolute ball making people laugh as one of the title comedy roles in the show.

On her return to Australia she landed the cameo role of Hattie in The Production Company’s Kiss Me Kate. Next on the cards was working with Topol in Fiddler on The Roof as the 8 foot, ranting and raving Fruma Sarah.

Terence O'Connell – Director

Terence has staged some 150 productions in theatres, concert halls, cabaret rooms, circus tents and comedy venues across Australia and internationally. His Australian national touring productions include Bouncers, Decadence, The Secret Diary Of Adrian Mole, The Rocky Horror Show, Glynn Nicholas-Crossing The Line, Buddy-The Buddy Holly Story, I Only Want To Be With You - The Dusty Springfield Story, Circus Oz, Flying Fruit Fly Circus, Certified Male and Minefields and Miniskirts-Australian Women and The Vietnam War.

Terence is a regular Guest Director for Adelaide Cabaret Festival, directing the Festival’s launches and staging concert versions of Metro Street, Shane Warne-The Musical and Licence to Thrill-The Scores of James Bond, for the Graduation productions at Ballarat University Arts Academy (Into The Woods, Bat Boy-The Musical, Cabaret and Gypsy), and WAAPA where he has staged Oklahoma! and 42nd Street.

His production of Andrew Lippa’s John & Jen garnered 5 Green Room Award nominations and he recently directed Maurey Yeston’s Nine for LaSalle at Singapore’s Performance Space.

He has helmed an acclaimed series of musicals for The Production Company at Melbourne’s State Theatre - They're Playing Our Song (2004), Oklahoma! (2005), The Pajama Game (2006), 42nd Street (2007), Damn Yankees (2008), Crazy For You (2009) and will again be a Guest Director in the 2010 season with Rodgers and Hammerstein’s The King And I.

Terence continues as original director of the outrageous hit Busting Out! and is creating the new musical Skindeep: Helena Rubinstein. He is also developing Minefields and Miniskirts for film.

Katrina Talbot - Assistant Director & Choreographer

Katrina has been working in the theatre since the age of six. Starting out in country music, she also studied speech and drama and soon found her way to musical theatre.

Originally from New Zealand, some of Katrina's favorite roles include Eponine in the Wellington production of Les Misérablès, Sally in Christchurch’s Me and My Girl, Erma in Anything Goes and Miranda in The Tempest. Katrina has been recognized for her song writing by a New Zealand television series called Showcase, winning her a trip to LA.

Katrina toured new Zealand with Wellington Company Capitol E where she learnt puppetry. Her most favorite role was in Lord of the Rings, as the horses arse, (stunt double for Bill the pony). Working on several Cabarets, her first with friend David Harris entitled I Can Live With That, which they performed in Sydney, also performing a Cabaret of David Young’s original music Songs for the Theatre in Auckland and Melbourne.

She recently wrote and performed her own cabaret entitled Sleeping her way to the top.

More recently Katrina played the role of Lisa in the original cast of Mamma Mia touring Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney and then toured Australia and Asia as Swing and Understudy. Katrina also performed in the ensemble of the production company’s Kiss me Kate and Oklahoma.

Katrina is very excited to be working on a musical that makes you feel good about being Dumped!

Stephen Amos – Musical Supervisor

Born in New Zealand, Stephen moved to Melbourne to study at the Conservatorium of Music, graduating with a Bachelor of Music, majoring in Piano and Composition.

His first professional position was in the Australian premiere production of The Phantom of the Opera as a trainee repetiteur.

Stephen played keyboards on Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and was the pianist for Sondheim’s Follies in concert for the Melbourne International Festival.

He has been Assistant Musical Director for Into the Woods (S.T.C.), South Pacific, Cats, The Secret Garden, My Fair Lady, Sunset Boulevard, Sweeney Todd (Q.T.C.), The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber with Sarah Brightman and Anthony Warlow, and The Sound of Music with Lisa McCune.

As Musical Director Stephen’s credits include Grease, West Side Story, the 10th Anniversary Production of Les Miserables, Mamma Mia!, Kiss Me Kate for The Production Company, Fiddler on the Roof with Topol, and Billy Elliot for which he won a Helpmann award. Stephen is currently the Music Supervisor for the 10th Anniversary Australian tour of Mamma Mia! and the upcoming Korean production of Billy Elliot.

James Dobinson – Musical Director

James has worked on and off-stage in musical theatre, legitimate theatre and opera in Australia and the USA. As artistic director, resident music director and performer for the Warehaus Theatre Company he has received local, national and international coverage, including strongly positive reviews in periodicals such as New York’s The Sondheim Review.

He holds a Bachelor of Music in voice from the Queensland Conservatorium, and trained in music direction at the multiple-Tony award winning Goodspeed Theatre in Connecticut, USA. His most recent musical, Scissors, Paper...Rock! played to packed houses in 2008 and is being reworked for a New York premiere in the near future. He has also been commissioned by Outcast Opera to write a new full-length operatic project to premiere in 2011. Credits: MD: Parade, Assassins (international reviews), The Witches of Eastwick (Dell’Arte Award), Music From Mars (also orchestrator), Underground Opera: Broadway Gold, cabaret group The Duvets (also arranger). Composer/Lyricist: Scissors, Paper…Rock! (also orchestrator). Pianist: Songs For A New World, Suds, Cats, Footloose (also Chorus Master), The Magic Flute, The Sound Of Music (also Chorus Master), Grease.

Robert Hansford – Costume Designer

It was at the ripe age of four when Robert Hansford first developed an interest in costume. His mother, an accomplished dressmaker, spent countess hours creating costumes for the local dance school where Robert was a student (of course he was!) Robert was often found at his mother’s feet meticulously pinning scraps of fabric to his teddy bear.

Many years and debutante and wedding dresses later, Robert studied fashion at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, but unlike most of his contemporaries his first job was in theatre.

Robert has worked with the Melbourne Theatre Company, Opera Australia, Australian Ballet, Disney and IMG. He has created costumes for Carmen, Faust, Tosca, West Side Story, M Butterfly, Die Fledermaus, The Dutch Courtesan, Torvill & Dean, Donna Frocké and most recently Busting Out!

Jason Bovaird – Lighting Designer

Jason has been a freelance lighting designer, production manager and stage manager for the past 15 years throughout Australia and Overseas.

He has worked on more than two hundred productions including the Green Room Award nominated production's of The Swan (1999), and John and Jen - The Musical (2008) and shows such as Disney's Beauty and The Beast (Princess Theatre), Man of La Mancha (Regent Theatre), The Wizard Of Oz (Regent Theatre), Sisterella (Regent Theatre), Fiddler on the Roof (Regent Theatre), lolanthe (Opera Australia), Der Rosenkavalier (Opera Australia), The Marriage Of Figaro (Opera Australia), Burnt Piano (MTC), Three Days of Rain (MTC), Life After George (MTC), Fred (MTC), The Great Man (STC), Tear from a Glass Eye (Playbox), 2006 Asian Games Opening Ceremony (Doha), 200th Royal Battalion Concert (Royal Albert Hall, London) and the Ramadan Games Opening Ceremony (Abu Dhabi, UAE).

Jason has created lighting designs for all facets of theatre and shows such as 2008 Victorian State School's Spectacular (Hisense Arena), 1st AsiaPacific "Outgames" Opening Ceremony (Melbourne Town Hall), Certified Male (National Tour), Busting Out! (Australian/ NZ Tour), A Local Man (National Tour), The Queen of Bingo (Vic / NSW Tour), Come Back To The Five and Dime Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (Directed by Terrence O'Connell), Dirty Dusting (Aust. Tour), The Peppercorn Tree (World Premiere), The Woman in Black, Me & Jezabel (Starring Amanda Muggleton), Moonlight and Magnolia's (Aust. Premiere), Jekyll and Hyde, Hot Shoe Shuffle, Cats, The Wizard Of Oz, Rent, Westside Story, Assassins - The Musical, Witches of Eastwick, Batboy - The Musical (Directed by Terrence O'Connell).

Over the years Jason has also received many awards and nominations, including a total of 18 Lyrebird Awards, 2 Victorian Music Theatre Guild Awards, and Gold and Silver from the Victorian Drama League.

String Theory – Associate Composer

String Theory Creative is the musical partnership of Matt O'Donnell and Steve Paix. As well as producing original music for the stage they also write for television and radio. String Theory's association with the writers of Dumped! began when they were approached to provide music for Busting Out!. Composing for Dumped! gave them the opportunity to draw from decades of music history to create songs that tip their hats to Sixties pop, Seventies disco and Eighties rock, as well as the chance to sing up really high when trying out the songs for the characters.

Karin Muzineks - Associate Composer & Lyricist

Karin is a cabaret performer, songwriter and comedian. She holds a Bachelor of Arts (Music Theatre Performance) from the University of Ballarat (2005) and an Associate Diploma of Musical Theatre from Trinity College London (2004).

Karin's music and comedy have featured on ABC Radio, 3MBS and JoyFM, in Beat Magazine and on the TV shows Planet Nerd, The Breakfast Show and Rockwiz.

She has performed as a cabaret artist and comedian at Mark Watson's 24-hour Show (2008), Upfront - The MICF showcase for female comedians - at the Melbourne Town Hall (2009) and Short and Girly, the AIDS fundraiser (2009) amongst other high-profile gigs. Karin's self-written and produced works include Better at a Distance (2007) and the Comedy Festival smash hits Give My Regards To Broady (2008) and World War Wonderful (2009) the latter which won "Most Popular Show" on the Groggy Squirrel's Comedy Festival Poll and was nominated for a Greenroom Award for Best Original Songs.

In 2008 Karin was a finalist in the Short, Sweet + Cabaret competition with her entry Hell's Cabaret. In 2007 she was awarded The Butterfly Club's "Under Our Wing Award" for outstanding contribution to Cabaret - Karin was the first woman ever to win this award.

Karen is currently performing First Against the Wall at the 2010 Melbourne International Comedy Festival.

Andrew Guild - Producer

Andrew Guild has been involved with the production of ballet, circus, classical music, folk dance, ice spectaculars and a whole lot more for over forty years.

Andrew worked closely with the Edgley organisation as executive producer for tours, such as The Royal Ballet, The Great Moscow Circus, Torvill and Dean, The Bolshoi Ballet and, quite literally, hundreds of internationally famous attractions.

Andrew Guild’s journey in the world of entertainment started when, as a school boy, he sought out a holiday job by auditioning for the very first Australian production of Lionel Bart’s ground-breaking musical Oliver.

A year playing the Artful Dodger, then more juggling of school and theatre work and finally, an invitation to join the Edgley family, which saw him take on responsibility for all things Russian.

During Soviet times, Andrew made over 250 visits to Moscow and travelled extensively throughout Russia and the Soviet States. He estimates he has been involved with over 7,000 performers visiting Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, as well as many East Asian countries, including China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore.

Andrew Guild speaks Russian, knows the difference between a pas de deux on an Opera House stage and a triple somersault in a Big Top. He can design a sophisticated lighting rig; act as load master on a semi-trailer; plan marketing campaigns with budgets of millions, or judge at an International Circus Competition.

He chooses to live in Melbourne and is happy to travel to seek out new talents, new thrills and entertainments that will appeal to audiences wherever there are beautiful Theatres, magnificent Concert Halls and spectacular Big Tops.

Simon Bryce – Producer

Simon Bryce has spent the past 17 years working as a marketing consultant and an executive producer of live entertainment. He has worked extensively throughout Australia, the United Kingdom, USA and France. As a marketing consultant, he has developed and implemented marketing campaigns for many leading entertainment brands including Hi-5, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Really Useful Company, STOMP and the Moscow Circus. Career highlights include marketing the first tour of Madame Tussaud’s in 160 years, which sold over half a million tickets in his hometown of Melbourne and Michael Edgley’s presentation of EnglishNational Ballet’s arena production of Swan Lake which became the highest selling ballet in Australia’s history.

As an executive producer, Simon’s credits include Slava’s Snowshow (New York, Chicago, San Francisco), Too Far to Walk starring Prunella Scales (London), End of the Rainbow starring Caroline O’Connor, (Sydney & Edinburgh), Puppetry of the Penis (UK, Australia & USA) and Les Marionnettes du Pénis (France & Switzerland). Simon has also worked extensively with many of Australia’s leading regional and mid scale performing arts centre’s including Geelong Performing Arts Centre, Monash Arts Precinct and Playbox Theatre Centre, now Malthouse Theatre. He has consulted for a variety of organizations including the Arts Centre, Melbourne, Cirque du Soleil, Arts Projects Australia and ThemeSTAR.

Whilst in London, Simon was a consultant to Back Row Productions, Out of Joint, Circus Oz and the Arts Council of England.

When not collaborating with Emma Powell on Dumped! The Musical We've All Been Through, Simon is busy collaborating with Emma Powell on international touring comedy show, Busting Out!

Sally Gibson - Executive Producer

Sally has worked in all facets of live entertainment for the past 15 years from outdoor concert production and special events to circus and musical theatre.

Sally has spent much of the last ten years based in America and touring internationally with the critically acclaimed Slava’s Snowshow, Australian hit comedy Puppetry of the Penis and producing Spiegelworld with its stable of shows Absinthe, La Vie and Desir.

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